Chapter 261: Time Stop Threat

“Everyone, be careful!” Axel shouted, his voice cutting through the tension. “This bastard can stop time! When it starts chanting, focus on defense!”

“Time stop?!”

The girls, hearing his warning, felt fear for the first time.

Under Mimir’s guidance, they had learned that time and space were the two most difficult elements to master. While Fenrir could manipulate space effortlessly, none of them had even begun to grasp control over time. This challenge stemmed not from their elemental affinities but rather from their inherent abilities.

In short, none of them could confront the dragon on equal ground in this battle!

However, they also recognized a significant weakness.

“It doesn’t have infinite mana, so there must be a limit to how many times it can use that power,” Nina whispered.

“Correct.” Axel spat on the ground, wiping a thin line of blood from his lips. “Think of this as a boss raid. Prepare the potions, and chip away at its health slowly but surely!”

[Pesky humans…!]

Of course, the dragon could hear them speak. It wasn’t deaf, after all.

For the peace of the world, I shall not fall here! You will all die…!

“RAAAGH!”

But before it could move, a large shadow flashed toward it… Fenrir in her wolf form!

After getting hit, she completely lost her marbles and went all out! The cave might collapse? She didn’t care! The giant gray wolf swiped her claws, forcing the dragon to dodge backward.

However, as if reading this response, she scratched open a tear in space, connecting her front paw to the dragon’s back.

[RROOOOOAAAAAR!]

A deeper scratch than the one Axel inflicted was opened on its back, causing it to cry in pain.

Of course, it didn’t go down without a fight. As soon as it received damage, it counterattacked, chanting. [Oh world, halt…!]

Fenrir channeled mana throughout her entire body, mimicking Axel’s use of Overdrive.

In the next instant, her world spun as she was hurled away once more. She crashed into a wall, breaking through it and emerging on the other side of the mountain, leaving a large tunnel shaped like her body in her wake.

“Fenrir!” Axel called out in concern, but he had no time to check on her.

As the next closest target, he prepared for the dragon’s attack. The creature’s mouth moved, flames gathering within. Axel recognized the attack before it even launched.

“Breath attack coming!” he shouted. “Raise your defenses!”

The girls sprang into action, conjuring layered magic barriers for protection. Axel, lacking the time and skill to create a barrier, raised his sword, bracing for a powerful swing.

A second later, the dragon unleashed a fierce breath—a beam of fire, one could say. Axel’s eyes widened as he saw it approaching. However, it wasn’t as quick as when the dragon manipulated time. It wasn’t instantaneous, so he had a chance to block it!

“HAAAAA!”

He swung his sword downward, cleaving the beam into two streams that flowed around him. Although the attack struck his blade and missed his body, the intense heat radiating from the flames began to “cook” him. His skin sizzled, and smoke billowed from his armor as it started to melt. Even his sword was gradually disintegrating under the force of the assault.

Yet, he held firm.

“COME ON…!”

He forced the sword to complete a swing, then quickly bounced it back up for a second strike. With this maneuver, he successfully cut the beam in two, sending a flying slash that sliced through the air and reached the dragon’s snout.

The dragon realized it couldn’t withstand the attack without sustaining injury, so it knew it had to dodge. However, doing so interrupted its breath attack, cutting it short.

“Now!”

Seizing the opportunity created by Axel, the girls sprang into action without hesitation.

Arianne was the fastest, swinging her sword across the dragon’s back toward the injury that Fenrir had already inflicted.

Maria and Cherry wielded their wands, unleashing various elemental arrows directed at the dragon. Ria and Nina cast curses, hoping they would take effect. Meanwhile, Eve fired her sniper rifle, aiming for the dragon’s eyes.

It was a perfectly coordinated attack, hitting the dragon almost simultaneously.

The dragon couldn’t attempt to dodge; doing so would disrupt its balance and leave it vulnerable to attacks for a much longer period—much more dangerous, especially since Axel would then be “free” to strike again!

The dragon chose to endure the girls’ attacks, believing it could withstand the damage.

However, the girls’ attacks couldn’t be scoffed at either.

The bullet hit the dragon’s right eye, blinding it. Without scales to protect the eyes, it was easy to penetrate! With its vision lost, the incoming magic arrows landed without obstruction. Then, Arianne’s sword came slashing down at the previous injury, digging deeper, harder, and more painfully.

[Y-You cur…!]

Still, the dragon didn’t give up.

Despite experiencing pain, losing half of its vision, and facing simultaneous attacks from multiple people, the dragon persevered.

[OH WORLD, STOP!!!]

Then came the feared chant. It was so fast that the girls failed to raise their guards in time. Axel saw this and reached out, but… he was too late.

Without even blinking, the scenery flashed, changing instantly.

The girls flew around, smashing into the walls, the ground, or the ceiling. None were spared—not even Maria and Cherry. Only the dragon remained, panting hard as it was visibly worn out and staggered, injured.

“YOU FUCKER…!”

Although that didn’t mean anything to Axel.

He saw it hurting the ones precious to him. There’s no way he’d let that pass!

He ramped up Overdrive’s output, reaching 200% in a flash. He stepped onto the stone ground, cracking it as he jumped forward. His body flashed, almost like a bullet, reaching the dragon’s side in a literal instant.

His sword came swinging down, melted and with its edge basically gone.

However, his swing, with a 200% boost in output, managed to dig a human-sized wound across the dragon’s side. The wound was so deep that Axel could see the dragon’s organs moving and beating from within!

The dragon couldn’t even raise a scream of pain, as it knew that doing that would be its last.

It quickly moved, swatting Axel away with its tail.

“BUFU!”

Blinded by anger, he didn’t even see the attack coming. It hit him right when Overdrive’s output dropped, causing damage to actually reach him.

Axel bounced off the ground, rolling, before stopping by crashing into another wall.

He spat out blood, his vision blurry. It was an attack that managed to shave off almost all 10x of his HP pool in one go.

With his trembling hands, he quickly pulled out an item.

Then, he poured its contents down his throat before feeling life return to him.

Instantly, he was back to full health!

“Ptew!”

He spat blood, wiping the corner of his lips once more.

Not only him, but the girls who got sent flying earlier also came down, drinking the same blue potion and recovering from all their injuries. Even Fenrir, who was sent flying away, returned with a body devoid of any injuries.

The dragon gritted its teeth—fangs—in chagrin, whispering.

[…This is unfair!]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep